Another role of the scapula involves retraction and protraction along the thoracic wall.

Many adult frogs capture prey on land using a forward lunge of the entire body in combination with protraction of a short tongue that reaches only slightly beyond the margins of the jaws.

Muscles necessary for the rapid dorsoventral expansion of the head are composed primarily of fast-twitch fibers while those involved in more tonic contractions such as hyoid protraction have more slow-twitch muscle fibers.